by creemaster » Wed Aug 23, 2017 3:36 pm
A new milestone has been
reached in the building of the
new polar research ship for
Britain, the RRS Sir David
Attenborough, as the ‘stern
section’ is transported by barge
from Hebburn-based shipyard
A&P Tyne to the Cammell
Laird’s shipyard in Birkenhead.
Commissioned by NERC and
built by Cammell Laird
Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders,
the vessel is a Rolls-Royce
design, and will be operated by
British Antarctic Survey when
it enters service in 2019. The
transportation which takes place this week is of the 899 tonne steel block (known as block 10)
which is more than 23 meters long and 24 meters wide. Block 10 will be loaded onto a barge using
self-propelled modular trailers. It is a complex operation involving hydraulic ballast pumps to keep
the barge level while the heavy load moves onto it from the slipway. ALE is responsible for loading
the stern section onto a barge. Departure time depends on tides and weather conditions but is
expected to take place on Monday, the company said. ALE will secure the block by specially-
designed sea-fastenings during its transit to Cammell Laird which may take up to five days. On
arrival at the Birkenhead yard, ALE will perform the ‘load-in’ process using the same SPMT
configuration. Once securely ashore work will begin on joining Block 10 to its neighbouring blocks
under construction in Cammell Laird’s construction hall, the company explained.
(Source: Subsea
World News)
A little bit more info
Regards
Graham